No, US Bombers Did Not Use Indian Airspace To Attack Iran

Following United States’ airstrikes on Iran, social media has been rife with false claims of US aircraft using Indian airspace to conduct the operation dubbed as "Midnight Hammer".

On June 22, the US officially entered the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel by conducting airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities—Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan.

Claim:

Several Pakistani social media users claimed that the Indian airspace was used by US bombers to conduct the airstrikes in Iran (archived here and here). One of the viral captions read, "CONFIRMED: Indian airspace was used by U.S. forces to strike Iran. New Delhi’s quiet complicity now places it on the wrong side of history. Iran will not forget."

What We Found:

According to details on flight routes given during briefings by US authorities, the B-2 bombers and support aircraft flew over Lebanon, Syria and Iraq to get to Iran. Indian authorities have also refuted the claim of Indian airspace being used for Operation Midnight Hammer.

Pentagon Provides Route Details: The Pentagon provided details on the operation, along with unclassified visuals highlighting the route taken by the US bombers to conduct the airstrikes.

According to the flight route given in the Pentagon briefing, the US B-2 stealth bombers flew to Iran over Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, and not India.

US DOD Confirms Flight Route: In a media briefing, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Dan Caine specifically mentioned that the "B-2s linked up with escort and support aircraft once over land in the Middle East in a complex, tightly timed manoeuvre requiring exact synchronisation across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace." This further confirms that the bombers flew over the Middle East, rather than through South Asian airspace.

PIB Fact-Check Refutes Claim: The Press Information Bureau's Fact-checking handle put out a tweet refuting the viral claim.